eyedropper

[ ahy-drop-er ]

noun

1. a dropper, often one used to dispense medicine such as eye drops or ear drops:

   Hold the eyedropper over the eye and carefully dispense the prescribed number of drops into the eye.

   Use an eye dropper to put some of the cleaning solution directly into the top of the printhead.

2. Digital Technology.
   1. Usually eyedropper tool. a menu option or function that allows the user of a graphics application to sample and analyze a color occurring in a digital image, and then adjust or replicate that color for use elsewhere:

      You can set the skin tone for your image more precisely using the eyedropper tool.

   2. a menu icon representing this function, resembling a dropper, used for taking up and dispensing small amounts of liquid, as paint on a color palette:

      Click on the eyedropper and then click on the color you want to select.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eyedropper¹

First recorded in 1935–40; eye + dropper

Example Sentences

“It is a broad-billed hummingbird,” the 73-year-old Lattouf said, as she moved an eyedropper to its beak.

From Seattle Times

“Saving for retirement feels like standing at the edge of a pool with an eyedropper,” she said.

From New York Times

It’s one small way because affordable housing created through the program so far is an eyedropper contribution to a sea of need.

From Washington Post

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, dipped the eyedropper into the liquid, and suctioned up a few drops.

From Literature

The clinic’s doctors examine patients and typically provide them with a very tiny eyedropper bottle containing liquid CBD-dominant oil.

From Washington Times